I am 6'4" tall with long legs. I don't fit into steerage seats any longer. On the last airliner I entered last year, my knees touched the seat frame in front of me. Since I am retired, my air travel has dropped significantly. In addition, I only fly when I can't possibly drive. Last year I made three trips from the KC area to the east coast, and I did not fly. I had the time, more luggage space, adequate leg room, control over departure and arrival times, and comparable expense including a comfortable overnight stay and good meals.
Things will have to get a whole lot worse before the public will value adequate comfort above low price. Forcing seats together and then charging extra for legroom is great, but unless you buy tickets months in advance, those seats are long gone. On retirement income, I cannot afford double prices for a blue carpet into "1st Class."
Most of my flying these days is on my flight simulator. Screw 'em.

And we used to complain about the media being too liberal? Let's keep politics out of aviation discussions unless there are facts to back opinions, and quit trolling for political consensus in an inappropriate venue.

I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I think this is all B.S. The entertainment system is not connected to the plane's navigational systems in any way that I know of. If the pilot had experienced an unusual deviation from autopilot control, there would have been an AP disconnect and/or warning, or at least a pilot would notice a sudden turn or change in power setting or pitch during straight and level flight enroute. I think this guy is a nut case and the media is making money on it.

On the other side of this is the potential for passenger fraud by claiming to have had those $1,000 binoculars in the baggage in the first place. Imagine how many $1,000 claims the airlines would get for expensive items that never existed in the baggage.

See my comment above about Expedia vs. Travelocity regarding blocking itinerary histories and attempts to verify them, @Scott. My airline of choice is Southwest and you can only book directly with them. But they don't go many of the places I need to go.
I took four long trips in 2014 driving, to avoid airline hassles, hidden fees, lost luggage risks, limited baggage and inadequate legroom.